NARF SECRETARIAT S REPORT

Transcription

1 10 th Plenary session of the National Agricultural Research Forum (NARF) NARF SECRETARIAT S REPORT 8 th OCTOBER P a g e

2 Table of Content 1. Introduction Progress since the 9 th NARF Plenary Review of the Agricultural Research Act Bio-economy Agricultural Sector Implementation Plan Agricultural Policy Action Plan Terms of Reference for the NARF Research and Technology Fund RTF Annual Performance Report Progress on RTF second call for research proposals NARF awards P a g e

3 1. Introduction The National Agricultural Research Forum (NARF) was established in 2002 upon consensus by the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) to form a forum that will facilitate an integrated approach to agricultural research, technology development and transfer. The NARF developed the National Agricultural Research and Development Strategy in 2008; which laid the foundation for the development and implementation of the Research and Technology Fund (RTF). A significant amount of work has been done by the NARF Secretariat since the 9 th NARF Plenary Session held in May The purpose of this report is to provide progress on the implementation of the NARF Plan of Action since the 9 th Plenary, and to address the following main issues: Research and Technology Fund phase one; Research and Technology Fund phase two; The Agricultural Policy Action Plan (APAP); Development of the Governance Model for Research and Development in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Sectors Development of the Terms of Reference for National Forestry Research Forum and the National Aquaculture & Fisheries Research Forum 2. Progress since the 9 th NARF Plenary Reporting on progress will focus on the achievement of activities outlined by the NARF Plan of Action and other activities conducted by the Secretariat to support the mandate of the NARF. The NARF activities are guided by the NARF Plan of Action, which is approved by the Plenary on an annual basis. The 9 th NARF Plenary held in May 2014 approved the Plan of Action for NARF for 2014/15 financial year. Table 1 below provides a summary of NARF s achievements as per the NARF Action Plan. 3 P a g e

4 Table 1. A summary of NARF s achievement for the 2014/2015 financial year. Functions of the NARF Action Output 2014/15 FY NARF Achievements Facilitate Advice on the Policy dialogues on options for Research policy frameworks and Development and strategies for research, development and technology transfer. Set priorities for the Research and Technology Fund Mobilize Prepare policy options resources for to National Treasury for research, and funding the technology implementation of the development in research policies and the sector strategies. Ensure effective Review of the NARF R&D governance MoU/TORs in line with the changing DAFF research landscape Develop operational Revised National NARF provided inputs which assisted Policy on Research on shaping and finalising the and Innovation and Agricultural Research Act following: The Agricultural Research Act which resulted in the Amendment Bill, which is certified by the Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation for approval. The Research and Innovation Policy for Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries and proposed a policy option for the sector. The policy is currently being analysed for its Socio Economic Impact. The Bio-economy strategy which resulted in the development of Bioeconomy Agricultural Sector Implementation Plan. The Agricultural Policy Action Plan (APAP) s problem statement on research and innovation. An updated The NARF updated the Research Research and Agenda and Priorities for Development which was approved DAFF Agenda management in Increased funding for DAFF established and activated the R&D Research and Technology Fund and increased funding for R&D during 2014/2015 Financial Year. Revised Terms of The Terms of Reference were Reference for NARF revised incorporating inputs made by for tabling during the the 9 th Plenary held in Plenary. The revised Terms of Reference for the NARF were recommended for 4 P a g e

5 Functions of the NARF Strengthen reporting on research and development related matters Interact and share information with regional and international agricultural research, development and technology transfer organisations. Action Output 2014/15 FY NARF Achievements guidelines for the NARF Secretariat and Steering tabling to the Plenary by the NARF Steering Committee. Committee Conduct the study to determine the effective NARF Model to serve Recommendations on various models for the NARF with The Secretariat focused on the Governance model for the entire sector and assisted Forestry and the National Agricultural capacity to serve the Fisheries to create their own Research system National Agricultural research system research forums. Present NARF reports NARF reports to be Presented the ToR for NARF to and proceedings of the presented to the MINTECH Meeting in July meetings to Department Departmental for recommendations/ management noting, approval and implementation. Host seminars for Identify relevant Hosted DAFF Research Seminar in information sharing topics for the October 2014 amongst NARS seminars stakeholders 2.1 Review of the Agricultural Research Act The Minister for DAFF called for the legislative review of all acts and legislations for the sector, of which the Agricultural Research Act formed part of the acts to be reviewed. The review of the Agricultural Research Act resulted in the draft Amendment Bill which was gazetted for public comments. The Secretariat worked with the Steering Committee to synthesize inputs received from the NARF stakeholders to finalised Bill. The Socio Economic Impact Analysis (SEIA) was conducted on the draft Bill to assess its impact on the social cohesion, environmental impact, economic growth and Job creation conducted. The Department of Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency certified the 5 P a g e

6 SEIA conducted on the Bill, and it is due for tabling at the Director-General s cluster meeting. The 9 th Plenary provided inputs into the National Policy on Research and Innovation, which assisted on selecting a policy option and finalised the policy. The draft policy is being analysed for Socio Economic Impact compliance as per the requirement by the Presidency s Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. 2.2 Bio-economy Agricultural Sector Implementation Plan Further consultations and engagements between Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Department of Science and Technology led to the development of draft Bio-economy Agricultural Sector Implementation Plan focusing on seven priorities, namely: New crops, plant development and commercialisation; Crop improvement, molecular breeding and genome engineering; Animal improvement, health and aquaculture; Biocontrol agents and biofetilisers; Food safety and food nutrition; Agro-processing and agro-engineering; and Natural Resource Management and Climate Smart Agriculture In addition to the 7 key focus areas identified above, the plan is to: Develop a networked centre of excellence in plant breeding that is intended to interface the various core elements of breeding programme including various breeding platforms (e.g. wheat, spybean, potatoes, trees), molecular breeding, genetic engineering, pest and disease management, bioinformatics, and data warehousing/mining, tissue culture platforms, greenhouses nurseries as well as industry and farmers. Develop vegetable research chair that focuses on developed integrated vegetable value chains based on root and tuber vegetables, leafy and fruit bearing vegetables and indigenous underutilized vegetables in a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to sustainable vegetable production and value chain development which will be supported by innovative application. 6 P a g e

7 Develop Precision agriculture research chair focussing on in vivo agricultural experimentation particularly related to developing in-field testing and capacity development. The Implementation Plan is being consolidated into a single document reflecting key activities and actions for all the 3 sectors (agriculture, health & environment) targeted by the Bio-economy Strategy. 2.3 Agricultural Policy Action Plan The NARF Steering Committee proposed that the Secretariat should conduct a study determining the effective NARF Model to serve the National Agricultural Research system, however the Cabinet approved the Agricultural Policy Action Plan (APAP) during the 2014/15 financial year, which mandated the Secretariat to develop the research and development governance model for the entire sector and assists forestry and fisheries to create their own forum, therefore, the Secretariat focused on the delivery of research and development commitment outlined by the APAP as follows: i. R&D Governance Structure; ii. Recapitalisation of National Assets; iii. R&D Programmes linked to Sectoral Interventions; and iv. Human Capital Development. The Research and Innovation Working Stream was established to manage the delivery of APAP Research outputs. It is constituted by Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR), Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Agricultural Research Council (ARC). Progress on the development of the governance model for research and development are as follows: a. A Research and Development Governance Model for AFF Sectors was approved by the Departmental Executive Committee (EXCO) for external consultations in the Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (AFF) sectors. 7 P a g e

8 b. Forestry and Fisheries Sectors developed the Terms of Reference for National Forestry Research Forum and the National Aquaculture & Fisheries Research Forum and are consulting with their stakeholders. 2.4 Terms of Reference for the NARF The 9 th NARF Plenary held in May 2014 adopted the changes made on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the NARF, including the change of the name from the MoU to the Terms of Reference (ToR). This change was due to the fact that the NARF is not a legal entity, but a substructure of MINTECH and CEO s forum in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (AFF) Sectors. The following changes were effected in the NARF ToR: Different chapters on the Terms of Reference are now referred as sections as opposed to articles ; Membership of the NARF has been revisited and the TORs are now clear on the definitions and groupings; Forestry and Fisheries Sectors are now represented at NARF Steering Committee; Expansion of the NARF representation and identifying the following organisations to serve on NARF Steering Committee Meetings. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform The Department of Science and Technology The African Farmers Association of South Africa; and International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Letters were written to invite the organisations to become members of the Steering Committee and currently, the response was received from the International Water Management Institute. The NARF Secretariat conducted several meetings with AGRI-SA representative for the Steering Committee to implement the recommendations from the 9 th Plenary. The revised ToR were presented to the NARF Steering Committee meeting in March 2015; and the proposed actions were adopted by the Steering Committee. NARF Organs 8 P a g e

9 The 9 th NARF Plenary and the Steering Committee recommended putting on hold the nominations of the NARF Chairperson until the Research and Technology Fund is well established; it was concluded that the 10 th Plenary will nominate the Chairperson of the NARF. The NARF Steering Committee recommended that the new Chairperson of the NARF should be nominated during the 10 th Plenary. In preparation for the new Chairperson of the NARF to be nominated during the 10 th Plenary, the following has been achieved: Call for nominations for NARF Chairperson The NARF Secretariat requested NARF Steering Committee Members to nominate the new Chairperson of the NARF. Currently the interim Chairperson of the NARF is Mr. Hugh Campbell representing the Horticulture Industry. According to the ToR of the NARF; the nominee(s) should be individuals who represent a recognised entity/institution that is a member of the NARF. No nominations were received. Confirmation of the NARF Steering Committee members NARF Secretariat requested all the constituent members of the NARF who have the representation on the Steering Committee to reconfirm or nominate new representatives of the NARF Steering Committee. The confirmations received (see attachment) will be approved during the Plenary. The following Constituencies are recognised on the Terms of Reference for NARF: Agri-processors, Agricultural Research Council, AgriSA, NAFU, AFASA, TAU, Comprehensive Universities, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Department of Science and Technology, Horticultural industry, Livestock industry, Private Agricultural Research Organisations, Provincial Departments of Agriculture, Universities of Technology and Development Partners. 3 Research and Technology Fund The 9 th NARF Plenary introduced the Research and Technology Fund (RTF) to NARF stakeholders and shared progress on DAFF committed funds for the RTF over an MTEF period. During the 2014/15 financial year the RTF Scorecard and the Guidelines for the call for proposals were reviewed to strengthen the following: 9 P a g e

10 The need to provide assistance to the DAFF Research Stations when preparing proposals for consideration to be funded under the RTF; Ensuring transparency in the RTF panel review process; Sharing of project information for successful projects through the grant allocation report; and Distributing the Annual Report with achievements for funded projects. NRF management team visited the Provincial Research Stations to understand research activities conducted by the provinces. Three (3) research stations were visited by National Research Foundation during the 2014/15 financial year. These are: Mara Research Station Glen Research Station and Dohne Research Station Provinces were encouraged to apply for RTF and partner with academia in order to access the funds. NRF also provided assistance in terms of applying for RTF. 3.1 RTF Annual Performance Report NRF and DAFF agreed on the following RTF Performance goals for 2014/15 financial year as to: Improve the funding mechanism for research and innovation; Develop capacity building research partnerships; Develop new technologies to support small holder producers in agriculture, forestry and fisheries technically and in terms of market requirements; and Conduct commodity-specific research to support improved commodity products The signed Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the NRF and DAFF states that NRF should submit the mid-year RTF perfomance report and the Annual performance report. The mid-year RTF perfomance report was submitted in October The RTF Annual Performance Plan and progress report was also submitted and highlighted the progress made on RTF first call and second call for research project proposals. 10 P a g e

11 The Research and Technology Fund was activated during 2014/2015 Financial Year with first call for research proposals issued. Funds amounting to R19, 5 million were allocated to support R&D projects. Sixty six applicants responded to the call for project proposals, and 43 applicants succeeded. Table 2 below provides a breakdown of projects from phase 1. Table 2. Funding Model Breakdown of applications per funding model No. of Successful No. of Failed No of Received % of Successful per Funding Model to Total Received CompFM % 58% CoFM % 42% Total % 100% % of Successful per Funding Model to Total Successful The high number of proposals submitted for RTF funding in 2014/15 indicates a high demand for funding to promotes Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries research. More projects were funded in 2014/15 than planned due to the increase in the available grants budget. 3.2 Progress on RTF second call for research proposals NARF Steering Committee provided inputs on the R&D Agenda and priorities for 2014/2019, which was eventually approved by the Director General of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in December NARF identified broad focus areas for technology and development within the R&D Strategy and highlighted the key performance indicators for RTF. The approved R&D Agenda guided the RTF second phase call for project proposals. 11 P a g e

12 The RTF Guidelines for the call the RTF were approved by the RTF Management Committee (MANCO) and included priority areas from the National Research and Development Strategy. The RTF Scorecard for assessing project proposals was reviewed and approved by DAFF Executive Committee. The revised scorecard was sent to NARF Steering Committee for inputs and comments. The inputs provided on the revised RTF scorecard were discussed with National Research Foundation during the meeting held in July Inputs were on the following criteria: Collaborating with small holder cooperatives: Instead of utilizing cooperatives to access small holder farmers, alternative mechanisms such as the commodity groupings should be explored. The benefits from the RTF should be accessed by a group of small holder farmers not by one small holder farmer only. Partnerships with Research Institutions: Members were concerned about partnerships with research institutions under Competitive Funding Mechanism, where the Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDI) does not have the required capacity to participate/partner. Presentations of proposals for the proposed projects: It was proposed that the scores be reduced, and clarity be provided on how the projects will be scored. Contribute to specific Agricultural Policy Action Plan (APAP): It was proposed that the category contribute to specific APAP priority commodity and/or the R&D Agenda should not focus only on R&D Agenda theme, but rather acknowledge other APAP commodities and transversal areas. Contribute to food security and/rural development: Separate rural development from food security and provide a definition for rural development. Food security should cover crops and non-crops food security measures. Empowerment programmes and technology transfer: small holder farmers should be replaced by small holder producers to be inclusive of forestry and fisheries and it should be affected throughout the scorecard document. Collaboration: Each collaborator s responsibilities should be detailed. Collaboration should be on one or more of the following was inserted. Student Capacity building: Capacity building should include black and white students but use the weight to differentiate between white and black students. Projects with black students should weigh more than projects with white students, while projects without students should be allocated a zero (0). 12 P a g e

13 The call for 2015/16 project proposals was issued in March The panel meetings for reviewing applications for 2016/17 funding were conducted in July projects were received and reviewed. The outcomes are will be published once the processes are finalised. 4. NARF awards The concept note for NARF Awards has been developed and presented at the Steering Committee Meeting which endorsed it for engagement with the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF). The NARF was advised that due to administrative burden for adjudicating the NSTF Awards, it would be preferable that the agricultural category be created with NSTF awards categories. However, incorporating the NARF awards into the NSTF would not allow the sector to have total control and provide the necessary leadership needed. The creation of the RTF would also provide an opportunity for agriculture to recognise its scientists. Therefore, the Secretariat would relook at the matter and develop meaningful proposals to be shared during the 11 th Plenary. 5. Acknowledgements The Secretariat wishes to thank the outgoing interim Chairman, Mr Hugh Campbell for guidance and support over the many years he has been at the helm of the NARF. He has indicated his intension to step down, but his constituency has retained him as their secundus to this forum. Thank you, Mr Campbell for your visionary leadership, courage and persistence during difficult moments in the life of the NARF. To the members of the Steering Committee for their dedication to the cause over the years, and steering the NARF to reach the milestones being reported here today. Sincere appreciation to the Department s Executive Management for ensuring that the NARF Secretariat receives the resources needed to serve the NARS constituency. The formation of new fora in both the Forestry and Fisheries sectors, and the new Apex Body will require even more resources. Finally, I wish to thank my Secretariat team (past and present) who worked tirelessly in serving the NARS constituency with dedication. 13 P a g e